From: WillNich@aol.com
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 00:31:42 -0400
The following editorial will be appearing in the August 1995 edition of The
Letter, Kentucky's gay and lesbian newspaper. Email us for reprint rights.
BUT WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT NOW...
by David Williams, Editor
Never underestimate the intelligence of your enemy, I say. We may think the
religious right is being led by grumpy old men in dumpy suits whose bigotry
is only matched by their boring ties, but that would be our greatest mistake.
Case in point is Ralph Reed, executive director of Pat Robertson's Christian
Coalition. Seems like one of the reasons ol' Ralph is opposed to gay civil
rights laws now is because they would cover heterosexuals as well. Before
you laugh, read on.
In a recent interview on PBS with David Frost, Reed said that such measures
interfere with the right of companies to prohibit heterosexual employees from
engaging in adultery ("gay rights laws" simply add the category of "sexual
orientation" to existing civil rights statutes, thereby covering
heterosexuals as well). If a man were having an affair with his secretary,
for example, Reed thinks the man, under such laws, couldn't be fired because
he'd claim the affair was part of his heterosexuality.
Maybe so, but isn't that the whole point? Aren't America's traditional
values of individual freedom and the right to privacy worth anything any
more? Or did they change the Constitution and forget to tell us?
Reed's a sneaky snit. By attempting to lump heterosexual adultery and
homosexual activity together in the public's mind, he's trying to deflect
criticisms that his group is biased against gays. This new tactic would
appear to put the religious right on a higher, almost papal plane. "Oh, no,
we're not picking on gays," we can hear his boss giggling, "we're opposed to
all sin."
The main problem is, we all know that employers, who are predominantly
heterosexual males, aren't going to fire other heterosexual employees,
especially white males, for having an affair with a secretary or a waitress
unless it's bad for business. And they just wouldn't care if a junior vice
president went cruising for bimbos every Saturday night at some downtown
joint on the waterfront. If their escapades are discovered, the most such
employees can expect is a wink and a smile, maybe a little talk, and maybe a
lunch. Christian Coalition: yeah, right!
Gays and lesbians should have it so good.
Reed understands this: he's no dummy, he's probably the most astute
political operative around. And a lot of politicians understand this as
well. It's a convenient cover for their homophobia. Just trying to protect
the standard Nielsen family, ma'm.
We gays and lesbians have seen this all before: same message, different
decade. What did they call it before? The Moral Majority? McCarthyism?
The Know-Nothings?
Nice try, Ralph. Here, have a banana.